Broken Battered And Not Whelmed
by KAthetomboy
Summary: A covert mission goes awry. Robin and Kid Flash are taken. (I suck at summaries, I usually get my friend to do them, but she's unavailable at the moment, so)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1:**

It was an uneventful day at the cave so far and the team was all gathered in the cave's lounge room, trying to find some form of entertainment. Artemis and Kaldur were playing chess with Artemis winning, M'gann and Conner were out walking Wolf (or making out, as the boy wonder suspected) while said Boy Wonder was beating Wally in a racing game.

"No fair! How come you always win? Did you hack the game again!?"

"Quiet, _baywatch_ , we're trying to play chess here" Artemis glared at Wally.

"I don't _need_ to hack the game to beat you" Robin teased.

Wally jumped at Robin and the two rolled off the lounge, wrestling playfully.

"Guys QUIT IT!" Artemis shouted and the boys froze, Wally mid-punch.

Robin swiftly kicked Wally in the gut, pushing him away and sat back on the lounge, grinning. Wally picked himself up from the ground and sat down next to him. Their hair had been ruffled and Robin had a bruise on his cheekbone from hitting the ground. They suddenly burst out into laughter and Artemis growled to herself. Wally and Robin returned to their game, Robin continued to win.

Just as Robin was about to cross the finish line the TV flickered to show Batman.

" _Batman_ " Robin whined "I was about to beat Wally"

"I have a mission for the team" Batman replied, completely ignoring his son's complaint.

Everybody in the room looked to the TV excitedly with a look on their faces saying _"Well?"_ everyone except Robin, who looked like a little kid that had their toy taken away.

"I want you all to investigate this place" A picture of a white mansion came onscreen beside Batman "It's the home of a corrupt cop, Gwen Mason" A girl with long, wavy black hair, dark skin and sparkling, bright blue eyes replaced the image of the mansion "This mission is a _covert_ one" Batman seemed to look at Wally when saying this "Please _try_ not to get caught" He sounded like he was pleading.

"Gotcha Bats" Robin salute/waved.

Batman sighed and Robin knew that he would've rolled his eyes too. The screen returned to the paused game.

"This isn't over" Wally warned as he switched the console off.

"Sure it is, we both know I would've won anyway"

Wally punched Robin in the arm.

"Ow" He rubbed his shoulder "Well I was just about to cross the finish line! You didn't stand a chance"

"I was about to use the turbo boost! I _totally_ would've won" Wally argued.

"Sore loser" Robin whispered to himself.

Wally heard him and folded his arms like an angry toddler. Artemis rolled her eyes and called Miss Martian via comm link, telling her to prepare the Bio-ship. Aboard the Bio-ship, Kaldur and Superboy were talking, Wally was attempting to flirt with Miss Martian while Artemis and Robin were making fun of Wally's failed passes at M'gann. All the conversations were ceased by a small beeping noise emitted by the ship.

"We're here" M'gann announced.

"Everyone enter stealth mode" Kaldur instructed "Robin and Kid Flash you two will observe from the east side, Superboy and Artemis the west, Miss Martian and I will take the north"

They all went to their obligated areas and watched the house.

Miss Martian floated near the second story window of the north side while having a mental conversation with Kaldur, who was crouched behind a bush, beside a tree. Artemis was sitting in a tree and Superboy was crouched down with only a small tree between him and the house but he blended in with the dark anyway so it didn't matter. Robin was also high up in a tree (Yeah there is a lot of trees) and Kid Flash was constantly speeding from the east of the house to the front (south) while conversing mentally with Robin.

 _{MENTAL LINK}_

 _"See anything Robin?"_

 _"Nope,_ _nothing yet"_

 _"So how's the view up there?"_

 _"Pretty nice, I can see the ocean from here"_

 _"And you're finally living up to your name"_

 _"Not all robins live in trees, some make nests on the ground"_

 _"Thank_ _you walking encyclopedia"_

 _"One, I'm not walking right now, and two, I wanted to read about the bird that I stole my name from, wouldn't you?"_

 _"Lightning and chemicals made me like this, I don't research them"_

 _"Yes you do, you love science"_

 _"Well_ _yes, but not because they created my speed"_

 _"And I meant if you stole the name from something, yours is original, well_ mostly _original anyway. I bet you search yourself up all the time to see what people think of you"_

Wally went a light shade of red _"No I don't, I'm not that narcissistic"_

 _"Ooooh, that's a_ _ **big word and a big lie"**_

 _"Shut up, birdboy"_

 _"Make me_ slowster"

 _"I could climb that tree and throw you down in a millisecond"_

 _Robin_ _laughed_ _"Yeah right, you wouldn't be able to climb it, you'd start to and then just fall"_

 _"Would not!"_

 _"Wanna make a bet?"_

 _"Uh... no, not really"_

 _"Then-"_ Robin was cut off when a dart entered his shoulder.

 _"Rob, you okay?"_ Kid Flash became worried at the sudden silence.

 _"I'm_ _dizzy, like really dizzy. Think I'm gonna fall"_

Wally's eyes widened and he ran over to the tree as Robin started to fall. He desperately reached out for a branch but couldn't catch any. _"No! I can't die like this, not like they did"_ Robin didn't realize that his thought went through the link to Wally.

It took a split second for Wally to react, he sped up the tree, grabbed Robin and then came back down.

"How much did you want to bet?" Wally asked as he laid Robin down on the ground.

"I _was_ thinking twenty dollars, but now I think I'll go with ten"

"Cheapskate"

"Alright I'll give you twenty, whenever I get the money, deal?"

"Deal. Now what happened?" Wally pulled the dart out of his friends shoulder and observed it.

Robin lifted himself up "I'm not exactly sure, I couldn't see anyone in the window so they must have been on the roof. I just felt the dart and started falling shortly after. Thanks for the save"

"What are friends for?" Wally looked back up from the needle and noticed how discoloured Robin looked "You okay? You're really pale"

"Probably from that dart thing"

"Or from nearly falling to your death"

"No it was the dart, I'm not afraid of falling, matter of fact I love it"

"When you know you won't die. I heard you, you were scared"

"No I wasn't"

"You're right you weren't scared, you were _terrified_. I could hear your heartbeat"

Robin closed his eyes and turned his head "Yeah well-"

His eyes flew wide open as someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth, Kid Flash had been caught in the same predicament, only his attacker could be seen, the corrupt cop, Gwen. She jammed a needle into his neck and at the same time, one was forced into Robin's.

 _"M'gann"_ Robins mental voice weakly cried out in fear to the Martian as he faded into darkness.

(LINE BREAK)

Artemis and Superboy had remained silent, both saw no point in talking and neither had any idea how to start a conversation. Aqualad and Miss Martian were just talking about Atlantis for most of the time.

 _"So, how do outsiders breathe when they come down? Do they have to wear diving suits or do you use magic?"_

 _"It depends on how trusted the visitor is but mostly they will have to use diving suits, there are only two spells to allow underwear breathing, giving them gills or giving them an air bubble. The gills spell is irreversible and the air bubble is dangerous and unpredictable"_

 _"Glad I can just shape-shift"_

Kaldur was about to reply but was interrupted by another team members voice.

 _"M'gann"_ _Robin's voice_ _sounded weak and desperate._

 _'And scared?'_ M'gann wondered, in fear of her friend.

 _"Was that Robin!?" Artemis called out worriedly through the link_.

 _"Everyone to the east side now!" Kaldur commanded_.

Miss Martian and Kaldur arrived at the other side of the house first, quickly joined by Superboy and Artemis.

"They're not here" Superboy stated blankly, with a hint of worry in his pastel blue eyes.

 _'Robin?_ _Wally?_ ' "They're not answering and I can't locate them" M'gann explained, her dusty orange-brown eyes welling with tears.

"What does that mean?" Artemis asked battling the tears forming in her own deep, emerald eyes.

"They're either too far away or..." M'gann couldn't bring herself to say it, afraid it might make it true.

"Where could they be?" The question hung in the air, without even a slight breeze to whisk it away.

"How are we going to explain this to Batman and Flash?" Conner suddenly asked after a long silence.

"Kaldur's the leader" Artemis replied.

 _"Really regretting that decision_ ' Kaldur thought, mentally sighing.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2:**

 _'If Wally were here, he would make some smart quip and Robin would make fun of Batman through the mental link, but they're not here and they may never come back again'_ Artemis' lonely thought appeared in her mind as Kaldur explained what happened, to Batman and Flash.

Batman was not at all pleased with his short and disinformative report, heavy on the _dis_. Batman glared coldly at the children, running every possible scenario through his head and only coming up with unpleasant ones while Flash frantically paced back and forth around the watchtower, trying to calm himself down and only managing to psyche himself out.

"How are we supposed to find them if we just stand around here talking!?" Conner demanded.

Before Batman could answer the screen fuzzed out and cleared to see Robin and Kid Flash tied to a pole. Kid Flash's hands were tied at the bottom of the pole and Robin's over his head. They both had a white cloth between their teeth as a gag and looked _very_ angry. The team had never seen their two most optimistic members like this and it scared them, but it clearly didn't scare their captor as laughter rang out, loud and excited laughter. Everyone's spine ran cold, but Batman got it the worst.

"Hello, Bats and kiddies, that includes you speedster" Joker stepped near Robin.

Wally looked beyond mad, his electric green eyes ablaze with fury and his fiery red hair definitely emphasized that. Robin didn't seem anywhere near as angry as Wally and only Batman could tell that he was in pain.

"So, Batman up for another one of our oh-so-lovely games?"

"You hurt those kids and I'll-"

"Oh, blah, blah, blah, enough with the threats! I mean, when have they ever stopped me before? Besides it's already a little late now" Joker glanced slyly at Robin.

Batman's eyes narrowed down to slits and he ran through the best, most painful ways to make Joker pay.

"What are you going to do to them!?"Artemis demanded, holding her bow tightly.

"Oh, archer girl! A pleasure to finally meet you, even if it's only through a camera"

"I can assure you, the pleasure is yours _alone_ "

"Hm, feisty little one"

"I'll show you _feisty_ -" Artemis clenched her fists.

"How do you intend to do that if you don't even know where I am?"

The Joker laughed when no-one answered "I think I'll just let that question hang around. Have fun trying to find me. Well times up, see ya round" Joker's dark laugh echoed around the room before the transmission ended.

Conner stared at the ground, sadness evident in his dull blue eyes, Kaldur remained blank faced but on the inside he was hurting just as bad as the others and believed it was his fault, Artemis was completely discouraged and sat back on the lounge, her eyes gleaming with fear, M'gann was leaning against the bench for support, the emotions of herself and everyone around flooding her brain, Flash was pacing even faster, causing Batman to worry that he might break the time barrier and travel somewhere else, Batman was just as scared as the others, if not more, considering all the past things Joker's done...

 _'The Joker is a complete psychotic, homicidal maniac and he would have no problem with killing Wally and Dick but he'll want to torture them first. He can't resist making people suffer. I'll make that sick bastard pay'_ Batman promised himself.

"So, what now?" Artemis lifted her head up to look Batman in the eyes, with her own despondent pair.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3:**

Robin woke up on the cold, tiled ground, painted like a chess board. He lifted himself up and saw a lifeless looking yellow heap.

 _'Wally!'_ He ran over to him and shook his shoulders "Hey, buddy, wake up"

Wally groaned and his eyes flickered open slowly "Rob, leave me alone, I want to sleep"

"Yeah? Well too bad! Because in case you haven't noticed, we've been kidnapped and my guess is that whoever it is, isn't going to be a nice little criminal, do you?"

"Well if we're lucky, we probably just got taken by Killer Moth or Two-Face" Wally moved from lying down to sitting up.

"Two-Face is _not_ nice, you do not want to mess with him, trust me" Dick subconsciously rubbed his right arm, that Two-Face smashed with a bat.

That was the first broken arm Dick ever got and he could never forget the pain it had caused, of course that beating also broke a few ribs but their pain was dulled.

Wally noticed how pained Robin looked "Ok, I'll take your word for it"

Robin shot him a look that said _"Thanks for not asking the story behind it"_

"So, any criminals with some sort of weird chess obsession?"

"Not that I know of, but it wouldn't surprise me"

The door swung open and a horrifying figure entered the room, cackling.

The two young heroes shared a single thought _'Oh no'_

"The little kiddies are awake! Oh you are both so _adorable_. Unfortunately you weren't supposed to wake until you had been securely tied, I guess I'll have to punish you for being such naughty children"

"But we haven't done anything!" Kid Flash argued.

"Not yet, but you hero types always do" Joker whistled and two large hyenas ran into the room and each jumped on one of the boys, effectively pinning them down. Harley pranced in after them carrying rope.

"Tie flash boy up first" Joker instructed.

Harley happily skipped over to Wally and tied him to the random metal pole in the centre of the room, the eyes of her pet hyena, Lou, watching hungrily with his tail flicking about.

Robin tried to say something, but Harley's other furry friend, Bud, had his paw placed on Robin's larynx, successfully preventing speech.

"What about birdboy?" Harley asked after she completed the final knot in Kid Flash's bind.

"I'll tie him up myself, soon"

Wally _really_ didn't like Joker's tone as he said that.

Harley left the room, her two 'babies' following her out. Robin rolled to the side, coughed and took in some more air, Bud had gotten close to suffocating him. Suddenly a loud 'crack' echoed around the room as a bat collided with his side. Robin winced in pain and gently touched his rib.

 _'Yep, definitely broken. Thank you Joker that's like the_ _ **third**_ _ **time**_ _you've broken_ _ **that**_ _specific bone'_

The bat struck down again against the rib just above the recently re-broken one.

"Leave him alone!" Wally shouted, horrified at the treatment of his 'little brother'

"Oh, does flash boy want a turn?" Joker stood up and walked toward Wally.

Robin glanced up, horror hidden behind his mask. Joker leant down and stared into the jade green eyes gleaming with anger and fear, a slow smile crept across his pale face. He walked back over to Robin and resumed beating him. Wally watched in terror, his protests being completely ignored by the insane, murderous clown. After striking Robin about eighteen more times with the bat, Joker got bored and threw it away.

 _'It's_ _over, well for now at least, thank god, I don't know how much longer I could've held on through that'_ Dick silently thanked the fact that Joker had a short attention span.

Joker grabbed the rope off the ground and tied Robin's hands to the pole. His shoulder hurt the most and he almost yelped when Joker forced it above his head. Wally heard the little whimper noise that Robin made and he had known him long enough to know exactly what it meant, he was biting back a scream. Wally scowled menacingly at Joker as the madman turned a large computer on.

 _'Why does everyone think that their computer needs to be as large as a cinema?'_ He wondered.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked Joker.

"Don't you want to see how all your goody-two-shoe hero friends are doing?"

"Well, not particularly, no"

"Well too bad, junior, because your going to anyway!"

Joker grabbed two white cloths and after a short struggle managed to gag both the young heroes (more so with Wally). Smiling, he turned the camera on with Wally harshly staring him down and Robin trying to force his pain away.

"Hello, Bats and kiddies, that includes you speedster" Joker stepped in the camera view, beside Robin.

Wally grew even angrier as Joker stood near Robin, he was afraid he was going to hurt him again.

"So, Batman up for another one of our oh-so-lovely games?"

"You hurt those kids and I'll-"

"Oh, blah, blah, blah, enough with the threats! I mean, when have they ever stopped me before? Besides it's already a little late now"

Wally felt even more anger churn inside him and they all saw Batman's look of absolute fury.

"What are you going to do to them!?"Artemis stepped toward the screen, holding her bow as if she was preparing to shoot Joker.

"Oh, archer girl! A pleasure to finally meet you, even if it's only through a camera"

"I can assure you, the pleasure is yours _alone_ "

"Hm, feisty little one"

"I'll show you _feisty_ -" Artemis threatened, clenching her fists.

Both Wally and Dick admired Artemis' courage to stand up to the Joker, even if it was only through a video.

"How do you intend to do that if you don't even know where I am?" Joker questioned and laughed as Artemis gazed down at the floor and the silence responded "I think I'll just let that question hang around. Have fun trying to find me. Well times up, see ya round" Joker laughed darkly and returned his attention back to his two captives.

He removed their gags and then strolled to the door "I'll be back later" his hideous laughter bounced around the room.

"You okay, Rob?"

"Not really. How's your mental state?"

"Hasn't been broken yet"

"You know, something similar happened to Batman and Flash"

"When?"

"A few years ago. Joker got them and tied Batman to a wall with chains while beating your uncle" Robin stated as if he were conversing casually, but at the same time he sounded like he was reminiscing.

"I never knew about that"

"He nearly died and was off duty for two months"

"So, which one of _us_ do you think he'll pay more _attention_ to?"

"He loves seeing me in pain, physically, he likes trying to break Batman's mind which is why he beat Flash, but with me around, I doubt you'll need to worry about getting hurt"

"I'd rather myself hurt than you"

"He wouldn't hurt you, he'd _kill_ you. _Please_ _**don't**_ say anything that will draw him to you" Robin pleaded.

"But Rob, I can't just let him _torture_ you!"

"Just promise" Dick begged.

Wally sighed defeatedly "Fine, I promise"

"Thanks Wal"

Wally felt guilt flood through him, leaving a wreck inside and tried to forget that he may have just signed his best friends death wish, assuming that it _was_ Robin, Joker wanted to hurt.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4:**

"The floor was coloured like a chess board. Could that mean anything?" Artemis asked.

Batman and Flash had zeta'd to the cave and were trying to figure out how to find their missing 'family' members.

"It could be some sort of dance club, then the pole would make sense but it could be a bathroom or warehouse basement. Anyone could easily place tiles over a floor and add a pole into the middle of the room" Flash answered.

"No offense, but I was asking _Batman_ "

"Oh, right" Barry tried not to take it offensively.

"Flash has a point" Batman stated "They could be anywhere"

The team felt even more dejected now.

"Couldn't Superman fly around x-raying all of Gotham?" Conner asked bitterly.

"No"

"Well why not!? He has speed right?"

"It's not that simple, we can't just rely on Superman to always come along to help"

"Well isn't that what he's supposed to do? Help everyone. This is _Robin_ and _Wally_ , our friends and _now_ he can't help!?"

"He's visiting his broken planet right now and I can't contact him"

"Convenient time to leave the planet" Conner grumbled.

"Arguing about the supplier of half your DNA and therefore half the reason you're even alive and able to argue now, won't help them either, will it?" Batman asked coldly.

The remark caught Conner off-guard and he just stared ahead blankly, not knowing how to respond.

"Everything CADMUS implanted in your head and you have no idea what to say to that, typical"

Batman's aggressiveness towards them scared the teens and even Flash was concerned.

"You alright?" Flash turned away from the children and put his hand on Batman's shoulder.

"My son and his best friend, _your_ _nephew_ , have been taken by a lunatic that feeds off the pain and suffering of others before killing them. Does _that_ answer your question?" Batman growled.

"Hey, I'm worried too but I'm not lashing out at everyone around me"

"The last time Joker took him, he died _three_ times and are you forgetting what he did to you? Everything he does, he does to hurt me"

"You always manage to find a way to make it _your_ fault"

"I don't hear you denying it"

"Because in this case it's true, but-"

"If I died, would he stop?"

"What?"

"If I died, do you think Joker would finally give up?"

"Of course not! He would find someone else to focus on. You're one of the few people that can actually outwit Joker, this world _needs_ you. You can't just go and die to test if Joker would _give up_ "

"It was hypothetical"

"It better have been"

The remaining members of the team heard the whole conversation between the only two adults present, via Miss Martian's mental link and Superboy's super hearing.

 _{MENTAL LINK}_

 _"So Robin died three times? After_ _one_ _encounter with Joker?" Artemis inquired._

 _"Apparently"_ _Kaldur answered._

 _"Tough kid"_

 _"I never realized Batman had any emotions beside anger before now" Conner remarked._

 _"Well his son just got stolen by a torturous clown along with his son's best friend, of course he would have emotions!"_

 _"Well sometimes his dark and expressionless face make me think otherwise"_

 _"That mask helps conceal a lot of his real emotions" M'gann pitched in._

 _"Can you read his emotions whenever you want?" Artemis questioned._

 _"Well, yes but most of the time it's accidental"_

 _"What's_ _he feeling now?"_

 _"Isn't it obvious?" Kaldur asked politely._

 _"I want the specific emotions, can you do it M'gann?"_

 _"I suppose so" The Martian replied, hesitantly._

M'gann pulled into Batman's aura of emotions and _linked them to the others._

 _The_ _flood of horrible emotions rolled over them. Desperation, fear, loneliness, anger, sadness, shame, bitterness and discouragement._

 _"He keeps it all so well hidden" Kaldur commented._

 _"Yes, under all the blank stares are a million emotions fluttering about behind his eyes" M'gann explained._

 _"Robin's lucky to have the Bat" Artemis claimed_ , thinking about her own father and how horrible growing up with him was.

"I know where they are" Batman addressed the kids and they abandoned their mental chat.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5:**

The pain from Dick's shoulder was, slowly, becoming less and less bearable. Every slight movement caused some form of burning sensation, mostly just breathing. Wally tried to ignore the tiny sounds of pain coming from his best friend. The two sat in silence, not knowing how to respond to the situation. The door burst open and Joker capered into the room, holding a knife, stained with the blood of one of Joker's other victims, or more likely _multiple_ different victims. The sight made Wally sick, both because it was disgusting and because of the way Joker was staring at Robin, his stone cold, myrtle green eyes hankering to cause suffering.

"So, _Robbie_ , ready for a fun game?" Joker's eyes were wide with excitement.

Wally desperately wanted to tell him to 'back off' but he held back.

"Games are only fun when the company is"

Joker laughed "Good one birdie"

Joker plunged the knife down into his broken rib and Robin took in a sharp breath of air, shakily letting it out. Joker dragged the knife down causing Robin to hiss in pain. The deep cut oozed out blood like a raging current of red rapids. He shook from the sudden pain and blood loss. Joker 'lightly' stabbed and slashed his; arms, legs, back, torso, only drawing 'small' amounts of blood (compared to the one along his side) but every little cut added to the pile of agony Robin felt.

Joker's attacks soon became more thought out and painful. A deep cut horizontally across the thigh, an intricate drawing of the letter 'R' on his back shoulder and a sharp stab into the side of his lower leg. The edge of Robin's eyesight was darkened, probably from his lack of consciousness, but he managed to hold on.

Joker cut the ropes holding Robin to the pole and kicked him over, he hit the floor with a sickening 'thud' and made a muffled, but loud, yelp when his shoulder collided with the unwelcoming ground which made Joker pleased. At some point he managed to obtain a crowbar, Dick only noticed this _after_ it was slammed against his chest. The longer the beating lasted, the more Robin reacted to the pain. Wally forced his eyes shut and tried to drown out the sounds of Dick's beating, tears slipping from his closed eyelids. Joker brought down the crowbar against Robin's hip, finally managing to get a scream from the boy. Wally couldn't stop himself anymore and his shimmering green orbs flew open, allowing all unseen tears to fall freely.

"STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Robin had long lost his ability to care about any stupid promises and was secretly grateful for Wally's interruption.

"Would _you_ rather be the one rolling around the floor, grovelling in untold pain?" Joker asked, eyes shimmering with eagerness. It seemed as if this was what had really been waiting for, to see how long it would take for Boy Blunder's pal to break.

 _'If it gets you away from my best friend'_ Wally thought.

"Without a doubt"

"N-no, KF!" Robin somehow managed to speak coherently.

Wally shot him a look saying _"Sorry_ _Dick, but I_ _ **can't**_ _let him hurt you anymore"_

Dick understood where he was coming from, and he was thankful for the resting time it gave him, but he didn't want it at the expense of his best friend, the only person who knew who he was and stuck with him in either identity, aside from Roy, but he wasn't around as much.

Joker quickly cut the bonds and hit Wally with the heavy metal bar in the back of the head. His eyesight went blurry and his head erupted into pain, but he didn't care, anything to keep the attention off Robin. The crowbar rained down against his ribs, left arm, back and legs. Getting hit in the legs hurt most and there was a definite and very loud 'crack' at the impact that caused Wally to let out a choked scream. Robin watched as his friend was brutally attacked and didn't have enough strength to make even a slight protest. After a long and painful beating, Joker paused for a moment and Wally took the time to breathe and check if Robin was still alive. He was still alive, if the look of absolute fury/horror and the tears falling down Dick's face were any indication.

As the Joker raised the crowbar once again, preparing to strike down against Kid Flash's collarbone, the door was blasted open.

The team along with Batman and Flash stood at the door. Flash attacked Joker on instinct to stop the crushing blow that was about to be inflicted upon his nephew while Batman hurried over to his son and gently touched his face. With his mask half ripped, Dick slowly opened his usual striking, vibrant, cobalt eyes, that were now glazed over from the pain and lack of alertness. Artemis gasped when she saw his eyes and realized who he was, Dick took notice of her expression and gave a tiny smile. Wally had managed to get up with the help of Kaldur, limping _**heavily**_ and now everyone was crowded around their 'little bird'. Flash finished tying Joker up, after leaving him with a few broken bones and a large bruise along his side, nothing that time wouldn't heal.

Robin glanced around at all of his 'family' and smiled before fading away. "Sorry" He managed.

"No, try to stay awake Robin, try to fight it off, Robin, Robin!" Batman tried to keep his son from leaving the world of the living, ultimately failing. "Dick?" He whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6:**

M'gann wasn't alone in wanting to hit herself. Why hadn't they checked the mansion? It was the most obvious and only logical place considering how fast Robin and Kid Flash were taken and the mansion being the only actual place they could have been taken. They tried to justify their idiocy.

 _'Since we were all supposed to be watching the house and didn't see any activity the thought just didn't seem possible'_ Artemis suggested to herself.

 _'It must've been because we were to worried and completely forgot about it'_ Kaldur reasoned.

 _'I was too angry to think straight'_ Conner tried to assure himself.

 _'I thought that they were far away because I couldn't track them down and the mansion was way too close, how come my powers couldn't reach it? Was I too scared?'_ M'gann wondered.

Batman just scolded himself and Flash felt like crying for being so stupid. Batman kicked the front door down, he honestly didn't give a damn, even if it turned out that Gwen wasn't corrupt and didn't know about what was happening, yeah like _that_ would happen. Gwen stood a few metres away, gaping at the angry heroes, standing menacingly in her doorway. One thought ran threw her mind.

 _'Run, just_ _ **run**_ _and don't look back, get away as_ _ **fast**_ _as_ _ **possible**_ _'_ She turned to run.

Batman let out a low growl as he lunged at the corrupt cop, he tacked her down and grabbed her right arm, positioning it painfully, fully prepared to break it at any moment.

"Where" He growled, it wasn't a question, it was a threat.

A threat that Gwen couldn't handle "The basement, stairs down the right"

"Thanks" He cuffed her to the rail lining the wall.

They all shot Gwen a death stare, Artemis' being the most intimidating and she noticed Gwen actually _shuddered_ from fear. She smiled to herself and followed down into the dark basement. Batman kicked in the door standing between their friends and them.

The first thing Flash registered was the Joker about to bash his Wally. He rushed at the madman to stop the crushing and almost definite fatal blow that was about to be inflicted upon his nephew while Batman hurried over to Robin and gently touched his face. Flash continuously punched the laughing lunatic, leaving him with broken bones, a large bruise and a fit of laughter.

With his mask half ripped, Dick slowly opened his cobalt eyes, shrouded over from the massive blood loss causing him to lose focus. Artemis gasped when she saw his eyes and realized who he was, Dick took notice of her expression and gave a tiny smile. Wally had managed to get up with the help of Kaldur, limping _**heavily**_ and now everyone was crowded around their youngest teammate. Flash finished tying Joker up, and joined the circle around the broken bird.

Robin glanced around at all of his 'family' and smiled before fading away. "Sorry" He managed.

"No, try to stay awake Robin, try to fight it off, Robin, Robin!" Batman tried to keep his son from leaving the world of the living, ultimately failing. "Dick?" He whispered, with only Conner, Barry and Artemis hearing. (Well Barry lip reading)


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7:**

On the Bio-ship Batman was desperately trying to bring Robin back to life, again. Everyone watched in horror, no-one wanted to look but they couldn't tear their eyes away from the scene either. M'gann was the only one who got out of it because she had to steer the ship.

The heroes watched as each shock from the defibrillator jolted Robin's dead body up and it slowly fell back down, over and over.

Flash gently placed his hand on Batman's shoulder "He's gone" He whispered.

"No, I'm _not_ giving up on him, not yet. I can't"

Kaldur's completely stoic expression finally broke and a tear fell from his light sea-foam eyes. Conner just turned his head away and Artemis leant back against the wall. M'gann almost broke down in tears, as she was listening to what was happening and for once the optimistic Martian girl lost all hope. Wally just sat down, silently crying, unable to make his vision move to any other area of the room, he couldn't even close his eyes. Flash sat down beside his nephew, hugging him and trying to get him to think about something else, it was pointless and Barry knew it but he continued anyway.

Batman just kept trying to jolt his son back to life, fighting the tears corrupting his vision and a few managed to slip down, not going unnoticed by the Bio-ship's inhabitants. Batman tried one last time before giving up. He stood over Dick's lifeless body and the tears fell down freely, he didn't care.

Conner looked over at Robin and heard the faint sound of a heartbeat "He's alive"

"What?" Batman met Superboy's gaze with hope.

"I-I can hear his heart. He's alive"

Batman quickly felt for a pulse, just to make sure. It didn't take long to find it.

"It's weak, but it's there" He confirmed.

A glimmer of hope sparked between the group. They hurried to get their 'little brother' the supplies necessary to keep him alive. An I.V drip, blood bag and life support. The items were frantically pulled from the ship's cupboards and shakily plugged into Robin's arm. For the remaining duration of the trip, everyone held their breath hoping that Robin wouldn't flatline.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8:**

The team was forced to stay outside while Martian Manhunter, Batman and Black Canary tended to Robin's wounds. They waited outside the medical room aboard the Watchtower floating in orbit above Earth, like a guardian. None of them had ever actually been on the Watchtower before, aside from Wally and Dick, but they didn't care at this moment. Maybe if Robin came back and Wally was alright, they might find the time to act like little children visiting a zoo or museum filled with dinosaurs and deep sea creatures. Time ticked past slowly, in complete silence, each teenager accompanied by depressing thoughts. Until Batman walked out. Artemis lifted her head off the wall and everyone else stood up, including Roy Harper who had arrived as soon as he had found out and nobody noticed his presence until just now, they also weren't surprised by it.

An unvoiced question was answered "He's stable, though his injuries were quite" Batman paused and glanced to the floor not entirely sure how to put it into words "Extensive" He looked around at all the faces of the discouraged youths.

"And Wally?" Artemis asked the question everyone else was afraid of asking.

"He's doing a lot better, a few broken ribs and a severely comminuted leg bone, but his healing abilities are helping with that"

"Comminuted?" M'gann looked confused.

"Basically his leg bone was shattered, like when you smash glass" Artemis explained casually.

"Oh" A mixture of shock and horror passed over M'gann's face.

"He's awake, you can see him if you like" Batman walked back into the room of his borderline dead son.

Without hesitation they all set off to see Wally, Roy hovering about for a second to make sure Bruce was alright. He took in his body stance and the pace he walked at, it looked like it always did and that was _not_ a good sign. Roy made a mental note to chat with him after making sure his _other_ 'little brother' was in reasonable condition.

Artemis was smirking while standing to the left of Wally's bed, Conner stood on the opposite side, M'gann was sitting beside him smiling gently and Kaldur stood beside Artemis. Roy walked over and sat down next to M'gann.

"How you doin?" He asked.

" _Doing_ pretty good, but apparently I won't be able to go out in the field for a month or two" Wally looked down, his eyes full of fear and regret.

"Can you guys leave? I need to talk with Wally about something" Roy asked as politely as he could.

The others complied and filed out.

After watching the door close, Roy switched his attention back to Wally "He's fine"

"But for how much longer? He could die at any moment and it would be my fault"

"How is it your fault?"

"I could've stopped Joker before he got that far, I should've taken his attention away from Dick sooner"

"You promised him not to though, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"He didn't want Joker's attention on you because he would've _killed_ you, he was about to when Batman bust the door down, or so I've heard"

Wally shifted his gaze to the opposite side of the room.

"Dick _made_ you promise not to intervene and you were just being a good friend by complying-"

"Good friends don't stay quiet while their best friend is crying out in agony!"

Roy wore a look of surprise, he hadn't expected that.

"Joker enjoys hurting Robin physically and in turn hurting Batman emotionally, to try and break his psyche. If Joker killed Robin, his ticket to hurting Batman would be destroyed, that's _why_ Dick wanted the attention on him, he knew Joker wouldn't kill him-"

"But he did. Dick was dead for at least five minutes"

"Maybe he finally got sick of Robin or decided that finally killing him would send Batman over, I don't know! But Dick asked you to stay quiet acting under that assumption and that's what you did, you listened and the result being both of you _alive_ "

"Dick died and is currently on the brink of death, again, he could just flatline and the Boy Wonder would never hit the streets again"

"You're usually an optimistic person"

"I just don't want him to die. He's my best friend, I consider him as my brother"

"If you want to blame someone for what happened, blame Joker and just be glad Dick is still alive, don't think about what could've happened, because it _didn't_ and that's all that matters. No more arguing about it, okay?"

"Fine" Wally grumbled in response.

"How would Dick feel if he knew that you thought it was your fault?"

Wally huffed quietly and a small smile tugged at his lips "He'd say I was being a dolt and to get _whelmed_ "

" _Exactly_. So _stop_ being a _dolt_ and get whelmed"

Wally let a slight chuckle escape "You should become an inspirational speaker"

"Shut up, Kid _Mouth"_

"If I could move, I would throw you out of the window"

"You do realize that we're in the watchtower, right?"

"Oh, I'm fully aware"

"You jerk" Roy laughed out.

Wally smiled in response. The rest of the teens positioned outside the door smiled to themselves, they had listened in, something they had quite a knack for. Who ever said they couldn't be covert? The only thing bothering them was that they now knew Robin's real _first_ name or nickname but still didn't have a clue to his actual secret identity, everyone except Artemis who was smirking to herself and thinking of all the ways she could tease him when he got back to school, _'If he ever gets back to school'_ Artemis' smirk disappeared at the dismal thought.

(LINE BREAK)

Roy left Wally to have his conversation with the Bat, something he didn't want to do, but if he didn't, who else would? He quietly pushed the door to Dick's Watchtower room of healing and approached Batman. He took in the sight of how small, fragile and _dead_ Dick looked.

"What's wrong? And I mean _specifically_ , not Dick almost dying"

"What makes you think _something's wrong_?"

"You're so full of emotions that you can't portray them, you seem too _devoid_ and it's just not right. Something's eating at you, other than this" Roy gestured to Dick.

"I feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner, people call me the World's Greatest Detective and I couldn't even figure it out and it was so _simple_ and _logical_. How the _hell_ did I not realize!?"

 _'Anger, it's an emotion at least'_ Roy settled for the positive side of the reaction.

"But you _did_ realize in the end and you saved them and _that's_ what's important"

"What if I _didn't_ though? They would _both_ be dead"

"None of you figured it out, so it would really be just as much their fault as well, _if_ that had been the outcome, but it _wasn't_ "

"But it could've been"

Roy practically lost it "YES! It bloody well could've! But you know what? It bloody well _wasn't_ so stop wallowing in self pity and _appreciate_ what you _have_ got"

Batman looked shocked, it was hard to shock that man and Roy felt proud of himself for it.

"Got it!?" Roy demanded, his anger mostly drained.

"Got it" Bruce looked down at his bandage covered son and held his hand.

"Good" Roy replied calmly and left the room to Father and Son.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9:**

Batman was on the brink of sleep, holding Dick's hand and silently begging for him to wake up, for his son to return to the world. Dick emitted a quiet gasp and his eyes flickered open. The room was vaguely dark, so he had only small trouble in opening his deep cerulean eyes and looking around the room. His sight settled on Batman, uncowled, holding his hand.

"Hey, dad" Dick croaked, offering a small smile.

"You, you're _awake_ " The shock on Bruce's face was _very_ clear.

"How long was I out? How long have you been here!?" Dick suddenly seemed panicky.

"Two days"

Dick let out a short laugh and winced at the pain it caused _"Only two days_? I thought I'd missed out on a couple months of my life, with how surprised you looked"

"Dinah said you'd be asleep for at least another week!"

"Well _someone_ needs to go back to medical school"

"She wasn't the only one who miscalculated"

Dick looked slightly sheepish "You too, huh?" He laughed wryly.

" _And_ Red Tornado, how can a robot as advanced and intelligent as him, miscalculate?"

"Guess you all underestimated me" Dick shrugged and winced again, the bitterness in his words was clearly heard.

"You had nine broken ribs 4 on the left and 5 on the right, a broken shoulder, cracked collarbone, numerous cuts, large gash down your left side, a horizontal cut across your right thigh, a deep 'R' carved into the back of your right shoulder, a deep stab on your lower right leg, that leg is also broken, you're completely covered in bruises with a large one covering most of your chest _and_ severe blood loss"

"Is that all?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

Bruce refrained from saying anything.

"How's Wally?" Dick asked reluctantly, looking away, to hide his tears, no doubt.

"He's fine"

"His injuries?" Dick queried, hesitantly.

Bruce took in a deep breath " Cut on back of his head, two broken ribs on the right side, fractured left arm, bruised back and legs, comminuted leg, tissue damage to left hip and a collapsed lung" Bruce looked up to a shocked and saddened boy.

"But he's alright?" Tears started trailing down Dick's face.

"Yeah, he's fine. Been awful worried about you though"

"Haven't let them see me yet, have you?" He smiled.

"Of course not"

Dick almost laughed, but remembered how much it would hurt and refrained "None of them would hurt me"

"I know, but I know you don't want them to see you like that"

"True"

Bruce paused "What was it like?"

Dick looked over, confused "What was what like?"

Bruce didn't want to ask but definitely wanted to know "Death"

A moment of fear passed over Dick's face before he answered, somewhat hesitantly "Cold, dark, kinda like the cave" Dick smirked slightly.

"Yeah. Did you see your parents?" Why Bruce asked, he wasn't sure.

Dick frowned, his deep cerulean eyes met Bruce's icy steel blue ones "Y-yeah, they told me to keep fighting, I wasn't ready to join them and that I would never be alone. They also said how proud they were of all my accomplishments and wanted to thank you for taking me in and letting me be Robin. I mean seriously, can you imagine how horrible the world would be without Robin?"

Bruce chucked "Horrible. Dark, gloomy and absolutely horrible"

Ignoring the massive surge of pain it cost, Dick jumped up and hugged his father "I love you"

"I love you too" Bruce returned the hug, careful not to hurt his little bird.

Whether Dick actually saw his parents, it was a dream or a clever lie, them thanking Bruce for taking their son in and being so proud and accepting of his life choice, warmed Bruce's heart, because even if it didn't come from Mary and John themselves, he knew that it would've been what they said.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10:**

A month had passed, Wally's comminuted bone was properly fixed (after the shards had been put into place by Martian Manhunter and his healing abilities attached them back together) and Dick was almost completely healed (both mentally and physically) but he still wasn't allowed to go back into the field, not yet.

"Sometimes Bats' over-protectiveness is really annoying" Robin complained to Wally.

They were both at the cave and waiting for the rest of the team to return from their recent mission. Since Dick's shoulder hadn't healed, he couldn't do much, so he decided to complain and annoy his best friend. He was upside down on the couch while Wally tried to beat his high score in the racing game, always falling short. Dick didn't bother hiding his amusement whenever Wally got frustrated at being unable to beat him.

"You think you've got it bad? You should see Uncle Barry when he gets worried"

"Couldn't be anywhere near as bad as Bats"

"He wouldn't leave me alone, didn't stop fussing over me, refused to let me leave my room _and_ wouldn't stop vibrating from worry. Do you know how annoying that is? Hearing buzzing and just seeing a blurred figure running around your room for almost two weeks?"

"Well, Bats was mostly the same, minus the vibrating and blurring while running part, except he didn't let me leave the _bed_ and set up an alarm for whenever I tried to get off it"

"Wow, guess your dad is slightly more protective"

"Ya think? And you wouldn't understand how aggravating bed rest is for an _acrobat_ , not to mention having to come up with an excuse for such severe injuries so people wouldn't get suspicious, _especially_ Joker, if he found out about me being injured he'd figure it all out, he's crazy not stupid"

"Gotta congratulate you on the excuse though, hit and run, creative and totally believable, I mean if I hit a rich guys kid, I'd wanna bolt too. Barry just told school that I broke my leg"

"Yeah, but you have super special healing abilities so even after what you went through it would be just like having a simple broken leg and not a freaking comminuted bone"

"In terms of recovery or pain? Because comminuted bones freaking _hurt_ "

"Well nah duh, your bone is literally smashed to pieces, imagine how much more yours would've hurt if it had been smashed into _fine_ pieces"

"Ow" Wally replied nonchalantly.

Dick scoffed in amusement "It wouldn't have been fixable, even for a speedster. Martian Manhunter wouldn't be able to direct every tiny shard of bone back into place"

"Yeah, well that didn't happen so it doesn't really matter does it?"

"Been hanging out with Roy have we?"

"Because I'm not entitled to _clichés_?"

Dick grinned as he heard a silent figure approach. Wally was tackled and two figures rolled down onto the ground. The controller was sent sprawling across the room and Wally's car totalled.

"Owwwwwwww" Wally complained as he merged with the ground and Roy pinned him down. Dick swiftly switched position to see upright again.

"Cliché am I?" Roy demanded.

"No! I never said that!" Wally defended.

Dick couldn't hold back his laugh at the scene "And everyone thinks you're so mature!" He stated to Roy.

"Can you let me go now? Your hurting my arms" Wally pleaded.

Roy hesitantly got up and stared Wally down as he approached the lounge and sat down beside Dick and bear hugged him.

"Hey! You can't leave me out!" Wally rushed over and hugged the both of them.

"Let go!" Robin commanded muffledly form underneath the two heavy bodies of his 'brothers' "Seriously! I can barely breath"

The rest of Young Justice walked into the room. Not being able to help themselves, they slowly stalked toward the trio and joined in the hug.

"HEY!" Robin cried out "Great, now I can barely breath and I can't see anything. Thanks guys" He muttered to himself.

Batman walked in, observed the scene and smiled before silently striding away.


End file.
